Here’s a pattern for a Princess Tiana bodice that I drafted for my friend Brett. I’ll show you how to make your own pattern, but because Brett and I are 3 states away, I don’t have a tutorial for how to sew it all together, though I will try to describe it clearly. It’s fairly straightforward, so if you have a basic understanding of dressmaking, you should have no problem. First of all is the measurements.
You’ll need these measurements:
Height from the middle of your waist/hip area to about 3-4 inches above the nipple.
width from just under the armpit to the center of your bust
Width from your bellybutton to your side
now you’ll take those measurements and draw a line that is as tall as the first measurement, and another at the center of the first line that is the width of the second, so that you have something l like a +. At the very bottom, draw a line that is the width of the third measurement. then, draw a sloping line from the bottom line that widens out to reach the second line, then narrows a bit before coming to a gentle, curved point at the very top, and then back down again. You should have something that looks like the first picture. This is your left side panel. Mark it as such and note that you’ll need to cut one of fabric, one of interfacing, and one of lining.
for the right side panel, you’ll trace the left side panel, but towords the bottom you’ll curve a line out to the left, like in the second picture. This part will overlap the left side panel and the three center petals. Cut one of fabric, one of interfacing, and one of lining.
for the center petals, you’ll draw a line that’s the height of the two side panels, and then another line at the bottom that is 2" wide. Draw an oval shap from the left side of the 2" line, up to the top of the tall line, point it a bit, and then back down. The oval should be no wider than 3" at it’s widest point. Cut 3 fabric, 3 interfacing, and 3 lining.
SEWING
ALL PIECES:
fuse the interfacing to the wrong side of the fabric, then pin the fabric and lining right sides together and sew. Snip all corners and curves and press your seams open. Turn.
SIDE PANELS:
overlap the two side panels with the right side on top. There should be a deep v neck that stops right around your underbust. pin together and stitch along the bottom and along the overlapping line. Press.
CENTER PETALS:
pin the bottom of all 3 petals together so that they’re gently fanning out just enough to fill the v neck on the side panels. Sew them together along the bottom and along the overlapping lines. Place them in the v neck under the side panels, and sew them into place. press.
figure out the best way to do the back for your personal taste, and you’re done! I personally would make a rectangle that’s the width from each side of the side panels and the height from my mid back to the bottom of the bodice. I may add a tutorial on how to draft patterns for the skirt, but that may take some time. Also, if you want a more shaped bodice, you could sew darts or false princess seams to the middle of the side panels.
